Habits
by bunnikkila
Summary: After the disaster at Krei Tech, Alistair Krei needs to work out where he's going from here... even if it doesn't exactly come naturally. (Takes place before Back On Track.)


It began with microbots.

There had been hundreds of them scattered across the ruined Krei Tech campus, and when the questions from police and reporters and investors finally ended and he could attend to the cleanup in relative peace Krei had found that a surprising number were still intact.

Sturdy little machines to survive Robert Callaghan's onslaught, the skills and weapons of the Hamada boy's team, and even the all-consuming force of Krei's own dangerously unstable portal.

Remarkable.

Like all of the technological debris, the microbots had been boxed up, sealed, and labeled; most had been sent off as evidence for the growing case against Callaghan.

One box, however, remained with Krei. It was the smallest of them, and it was sitting on his desk when he finally returned to his old office after another trying interview; his assistant, Huyen Phùng, had simply picked it up and no one had questioned her.

"You probably shouldn't have done that," he remarked idly when he noticed. Huyen blinked at him mildly, silent long enough that he wondered if she was going to speak (she often didn't and perhaps sometimes couldn't - it could be difficult to tell which and he'd never thought it productive to push the issue nor pressured her for further detail, instead waiting for a gesture or text when words failed her).

"Likely not," she said at last, shrugging as she glanced at the open box and then back at him. "But here they are."

"You're picking up bad habits, Huyen."

"Yes."

He almost laughed at her bland tone, and pressed his mouth tight to hold it in as he examined one of the bots. Remarkable, and tempting; he'd be a fool to not see the potential in the microbots, and he had the equipment and know-how to dismantle, analyze, and replicate them. Based on the production rate Callaghan had managed, they could be on the streets and recouping Krei's losses in a matter of weeks. Huyen's mother was a patent lawyer and had worked with him before; it'd be nothing to...

He tossed the bot back into the box and sat, studying the small nest of microbots and microbot parts and frowning at the memory of Hiro Hamada pleading with Callaghan for Krei's life, and then Hiro and his robot and friends fighting through a haze of Callaghan's microbots.

"Send them to SFIT," he said at last. "Care of Hiro Hamada."

Huyen blinked again but nodded.

"Of course, Mr. Krei."

She left to prepare a proper shipping container and address label. As her footsteps faded down the hall he reached toward the box, picking up the same microbot for a moment and then dropping it back in.

There was potential elsewhere, something that could be greater than the microbots; he didn't know if he was doing it for them or for himself and suspected the latter more strongly than he cared to admit, but when the box was shipped out it contained a brief hand-written note nestled in with the bots.

_How can I help?_

* * *

><p>It was two weeks before they responded; it had been years since <em>anyone<em> had kept Krei waiting, and it was all he could do to bite back his impatience and indignance.

"Potential business partners require time to draft a proposal - think of it that way," Huyen had said, sensing his irritation as they watched a fresh newsclip of the group leaving the scene after corraling a runaway trolley. Her affectedly calm tone was soothing as usual, and he couldn't bring himself to be annoyed at her next statement. "And all things considered, a bit of trepidation on their part is not entirely unexpected."

He had to grant her the point, and so he turned his attention away from them and toward Abigail Callaghan's medical treatment and housing, the remaining cleanup at Krei Tech, and the legal issues surrounding the whole incident until they finally responded.

They wanted a neutral meeting ground - not SFIT or one of Krei's buildings - and several emails later they'd worked out an appointment in a hotel conference room; Krei arrived fifteen minutes early, Huyen at his side, and sighed as he looked over a room meant for far more than seven people and a robot.

"You're anxious."

He winced at Huyen's statement and turned to face her; she looked as calm as she ever did, though he could see telltale signs of her own nervousness in the set of her shoulders.

"Huyen, we've been through dozens of business meetings this year alone. This is no different."

"It isn't, and it is," she said slowly. "This might need to be played a bit more... openly, Mr. Krei. Just enough different for that. But if you can be honest with them, I do think this is good for..."

She went silent as the door opened, looking toward it and then at Krei as he turned to watch them file in.

Ethel Yerin Cho, glancing at him and then Huyen and back again with a tight, suspicious frown.

Maria Lucia Camila Victoria Hernandez Fellner, tentatively smiling even as she exchanged a tense look with Cho.

Frederick Lee (who he'd vaguely recognized at the convention but hadn't placed until now), looking absurdly sunny amongst his more reserved friends.

Andre Newman, his expression somewhere between uncertain and determined.

Baymax, looking almost comical without its imposing armor.

And Hiro Hamada last of all, wide-eyed and nervous as he entered but drawing himself up with the same confident look he'd had at at the expo when he met Krei's eyes.

None of them spoke as Hamada took a position in front of Baymax, back lightly brushing the robot as the other four flanked him like some sort of guard; after a moment Krei stepped a bit closer and broke the silence.

"Thank you all for coming. You know my name; this is my assistant, Huyen Phùng-"

"What's your game?" Cho asked sharply. He bristled at the interruption, meeting her narrowed eyes with a hard look of his own as the other four shuffled uncertainly.

"My game?" He took the same clear, cold tone he'd used to shut down a dozen business rivals. Cho stared back, unimpressed, and he paused a moment to rein in his temper; he more than suspected that it would get him nowhere here. "I am aware, Miss Cho, that I owe the fi-the six of you quite a lot."

"So?" She cracked her gum, and he frowned at the sound as she continued talking. "You sent back Hiro's bots and you didn't blab."

"Nor do I intend to." He fought to keep the testiness from his voice, unwilling to let her put him any further off-balance. "Now. It's clear you intend to continue. You need funding-"

"Fred takes care of that." It was Hamada interrupting this time; Krei shifted his gaze to the boy, who quailed slightly and then relaxed as his friends moved closer around him. "I mean... Baymax's rebuild, and the armor sets, and all..."

"Yes, but he can't do that indefinitely without raising suspicion." Krei sighed, trying again to swallow his irritation. Huyen was correct; they had a right to be suspicious. It hardly made the interruptions less annoying, but he would simply have to bear it for now. "I can. Hiro... if I may call you that?"

Perhaps it'd be less irritating if he tried to deal with them as he would any potential business partners, affording them the same courtesy. Hamada seemed amused at the question, head tilting.

"I guess. Can I call you Alistair?"

"No."

They all looked taken aback at the brusque tone; even the robot blinked in a way Krei would've called startled if he didn't know better. He gritted his teeth and almost pressed on - as far as he was concerned he owed them no explanation - but sighed and gentled his tone with some effort, thinking of the careful, even way Huyen spoke to keep her anxiety at bay.

"It's just that I don't care for the name." There, that was calm enough. Hiro's brows went up slightly and Krei realized he was most likely storing that information for later use; there was nothing Krei could do about that now, though, and he continued as if he hadn't noticed. "No one's used it in years - it's always been Krei."

"I see," Hiro said slowly. Definitely filing it away for later if his faint smile was anything to go by; Krei was briefly reminded of Abigail as Hiro waved a hand. "All right, go on."

"Thank you." Krei said drily. The urge to roll his eyes was strong; instead he clasped his hands and cleared his throat. "As I was saying, Mr. Lee cannot keep funding you indefinitely without someone asking questions, but no one is going to ask questions if _I_ have another research and development fund open. Aside from that I can offer reenforced testing and training facilities-"

"Oh, yeah," Lee said. "Good idea. My mom wasn't real happy with the state of the garden, it was kinda hard to expla-"

Cho had elbowed him in the ribs; he grunted and rubbed at the spot before giving Krei a quick, wide grin.

"Er... yes. I'm sure it was." Krei cleared his throat again, less annoyed this time; he was almost getting used to the interruptions, and almost suspecting he would have to at this rate. "So - a fund for your R&D, a better place to test your developments than, ah, Mr. Lee's garden-"

"Oh, Fred's fine, dude."

Krei took a deep breath. He was wrong - the interruptions were still just as irritating (to say nothing of the form of address - _dude_? - but at least he hadn't used the 'Mr. Lee is my father' line).

"Fine. A better place to test your developments than Fred's garden, and that can serve as a place to retreat to if necessary as well, to avoid unwanted attention."

"How about a new van for Wasabi?" Cho asked.

"A new-for _who_?"

"Uh, that's me." Newman waved sheepishly. "See, uh... we had a car chase with Callaghan, and Gogo - that's her," he offered, gesturing toward Cho, "drove my van and uh... well, clearly we got away, but it... uh, it lives in the bay now."

"Oh." Krei took a moment to process that and nodded. "I... suppose that's fair enough." He looked at Baymax. "One that can accommodate larger passengers I assume."

"Right." Newman shifted his weight, looking bewildered - most likely at Krei's quick agreement. "Um. Sure."

"All right, but... that _does_ leave Gogo's question," Hernandez Fellner said. "I mean - you sent back Hiro's bots, and you haven't mentioned his name to anyone... those are things you didn't have to do. And so is this, so, um... what else is there? To gain, I mean."

He grimaced; this was a question he had no answer for, and his first impulse was to brush it off as none of their concern. The trouble was, it was very much their concern, and a fair question, and not something he could sweep aside. Not when this was finally beginning to go well.

"I don't know," he said after a moment. "I admit the initial offer was impulse as much as anything. So it's not something I've considered. Perhaps what you did for me at Krei Tech is enough to gain this much."

None of them responded, all five - six - watching him carefully; he hadn't meant to continue, and was as surprised as any of them at his next statement.

"Maybe I don't want to be someone who can't recognize his mistakes."

It was the closest he'd come to admitting that, much as the entire affair was certainly Callaghan's doing, it had all started with Silent Sparrow. Hiro and his friends exchanged glances, silently communicating; when they looked back at him even Cho seemed marginally more relaxed.

"All right," Hiro said with a brisk nod, arms folding. "We can live with that. So - what's our cover?"

It was a good point, and one Krei should have considered earlier - if he spoke with five students and their robot too often, and anyone happened to make a connection between Krei Tech and armored heroes, the conclusion would be obvious. He considered a moment, racking his brain until his gaze fell on Baymax.

"What about the robot? It's experimental, isn't it?"

"It?" Hiro's gaze had hardened; Krei blinked, wondering what on earth he'd done this time until Baymax spoke.

"I do not have a gender. However, I have become accustomed to the following pronouns: He. Him. His. Himself."

For a moment Krei could only stare; then he cleared his throat, nodding.

"Oh. Ah... I see. My apologies."

"Your apology is accepted."

"All right then. What is _his_ function?"

Hiro smiled a bit.

"Ask _him_."

Krei felt another prickle of irritation but looked up at the robot and, feeling slightly foolish, addressed it - _him_, he reminded himself - directly.

"All right. What is your function?"

"I was initially designed and programmed as a personal healthcare companion."

Something about the phrasing intrigued Krei; unable to quite put his finger on it, he looked back at Hiro.

"All right. That can be our cover - further developing this 'healthcare companion' concept."

"To get robots like Baymax in hospitals and stuff?" Hiro looked up at Baymax, who leaned forward slightly to look back at him. "Yeah, I... I think that could work. I mean, my brother would... would have really liked that."

"Hold on." Cho crossed her arms. "Who owns the concept?"

It was hard to miss the testing tone. Krei frowned, looking at her and then the robot; Krei Tech funding and development, and there was no mistaking the value in the robot...

As with the microbots, concessions had to be made. He grimaced, but inclined his head toward Hiro.

"Ownership of concept stays with the Hamada family."

Cho relaxed slightly again, nodding.

"That's what I thought."

"Um, you don't mind if we get that in writing though, right?" Hernandez Fellner asked, smiling nervously; Krei glanced at her and shook his head.

"No, Miss Hernandez Fellner... that's a fair request. I'll talk with Hiro's legal guardian about it, we'll have contracts drawn up."

"Okay, good." She smiled, head tilting. "You can call me Honey Lemon, by the way. Most people do."

"Right. Thank you." He was going to have to ask about all these silly nicknames later, but for now Hiro was talking to him again.

"You can talk to Aunt Cass at the cafe - evening rush should be slowing down around seven, maybe."

"Of course. I'll be by this evening."

"Great." Hiro nodded. "I'll be there. So, if there's nothing else..."

Krei considered a moment, then shook his head.

"No, I think that's all for now - we can start working out details once I at least have funding in order."

"All right. See ya."

Hiro headed out with a small wave, the rest of them murmuring goodbyes with varying degrees of friendliness or lingering suspicion; Krei sighed as the door closed behind them, suddenly aware of just how tense he'd been through the meeting, and looked at Huyen.

"Do you think this is a good decision?" he asked after a moment. She peered solemnly at him but didn't immediately answer; he waited, conscious of how the tension must have affected her, and after a moment she shrugged and retrieved her phone.

_Business? Or personal?_

He glanced at her text and blinked.

"Oh... both, I suppose."

_Business... we'll see_. She waited a moment, gauging his reaction, and then texted again.

_Personal... yes._

* * *

><p>When Krei arrived at the cafe (alone - Huyen had gone to a late therapist appointment with a promise to meet him later), it was still fairly busy. Hiro was waiting at a table near the door, Baymax standing beside him; Hiro stood as soon as Krei caught his eye, weaving through the tables to greet him.<p>

"Rush is running longer than expected," he said. "Where's Miss Phùng?"

"Busy." Krei looked out over the small evening crowd. "Where's your aunt? I might as well let her know I'm here."

"Hm, hold on." Hiro scanned the crowd as well, after a moment pointing to a pretty, if frazzled, brunette. "Over there."

Krei nodded and moved toward the woman, Hiro and Baymax trailing, and cleared his throat gently as she stopped moving to clear dishes from a vacated table.

"Ah, good evening... I'm here with Hiro to discuss helping with-"

"Help?" She turned slightly, hair falling over her face as she gave him a distracted look. "Great! Take care of these. Hiro, you get to work too - I mean it, buster!"

She pushed the full bustray into his hands; Krei grunted in surprise, reflexively reaching to take hold of it, and struggled to respond as she hurried off.

"But I-"

"I'll fix you something to eat once it slows down!"

"Er-well that's fine, but Miss-"

"Call me Cass!" she shouted over her shoulder.

"Yes, but-"

Too late; she was already gone, and Hiro - currently grinning up at Krei like the devil he probably could be - was obviously not going to be any help. Krei looked to Baymax instead, but found that it - no, _he_ - had already bustled off to refill drinks and clear dishes.

"Well?" Hiro prompted after a moment. Krei, unsure what to do next, sighed and headed toward the kitchen, all too conscious of Hiro giggling quietly behind him.

"You know I'm never letting either of you live this down, right?" Hiro remarked once his hoodie and Krei's jacket were hung in a corner and they were both occupied with the dishes. Krei only grumbled in response and Hiro laughed again, glancing up at him. "Huh, I'm impressed you even know how to do this."

"I've held jobs like this before," Krei replied, then grimaced - his tone had been too defensive for his own liking. "Just how long do you think I've been in business?"

"Really." Hiro looked at him again, impressed. "I dunno, you've been around as long as _I_ really remember. Good to know though - y'know, in case I ever get tired of chores."

Krei was quiet a moment.

"I'm not sure I owe you _that_ much, Hiro."

Hiro laughed again, giving him a considerably friendlier grin, and they settled into the task, passing dishes to Baymax as he came in to retrieve fresh plates for new customers; slowly but surely it died down, and they were almost finished by the time Cass burst into the kitchen in a near-panic an hour later.

"Mr. Krei! Oh my gosh I am _so_ sorry - Hiro, stop it, this _isn't funny_!"

Krei looked at her, then past her to Huyen's astonished face peeking around the kitchen door, and sighed as his assistant's shock gave way to a tiny smile.

Hiro was right; he probably _wasn't_ going to live this down.

* * *

><p>Later, with Hiro and Baymax off to attend to Hiro's studies and whatever else might occupy them, Krei and Huyen sat with Cass in her small private kitchen stirring honey into tea as he outlined the plan for Healthcare Companions.<p>

"Putting Baymax into full production, hm?" Cass smiled a bit, gazing into her tea. "He'd love that. Tadashi would I mean."

"Yes. Hiro thought so as well." He waited for her nod before continuing. "It's best we let our legal representatives work out the details of the arrangement. We'll work with notes and schematics rather than study Hiro's Baymax directly, and run any developments by the two of you. Overall, funding will be on my end but I'd like the design and related concepts to remain in Hamada ownership."

He was surprised to realize this was true; somewhere between saying as much to pacify Hiro's friends and actually speaking to his aunt it had become a natural part of the bargain rather than a grudging concession. Cass smiled again, tapping her nails lightly against the teacup before looking up at him, gaze sharpening.

"And what about Hiro's _other_ activities?"

Krei and Huyen both only stared, taken aback; after a moment Cass snorted and took a strong gulp of tea.

"You know," she said, "it's amazing how many people are operating under the assumption I can't tell when you're up to something, and even more amazing how many think I'm not going to recognize my own kid."

Huyen made a small, amused sound; Krei gave her a mildly exasperated look before addressing Cass again.

"I... may have offered my aid there as well, yes. Ah, does Hiro know you know?"

"If he does, he hasn't said anything. And I do think he thinks he's fooling me." She shrugged. "I haven't confronted him yet... I mean... he probably thinks he's protecting me, and I think... maybe he needs this, they all do. So... I'm trying to trust in them, and letting him have this until he decides he needs to come to me. Besides," she added, "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious about what he'll do when I finally catch him in the act." She leaned back in her chair, waving a hand. "You would _think_ it'd be difficult to sneak the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man in and out of here, but I've never actually seen them come or go if they don't mean me to."

A moment of silence, and then she took a sip of tea and sighed.

"You know, Mr. Krei... I can't even decide if all this is the worst stunt he's ever pulled or the _best_."

"Well," Krei said slowly, "given my experience, I'm going to have to enter a vote for the latter." Cass' steely look faded a bit, a small smile appearing as he continued. "But I do understand your concern. Still..."

He paused, remembering Baymax's surge of strength to rescue Hiro from falling into the portal, the group gathering around Hiro and Baymax moments later, the way they all protectively closed ranks around Hiro in the borrowed conference room only a few hours ago.

"I do think that you can trust them to look after him."

She raised a brow.

"And you?"

Krei shifted his weight, frowning.

"I don't know that I can-"

"You'll keep me in the loop? About what they're up to, their equipment, any... incidents?"

"Oh." He relaxed, nodding. "Of course. You'll be the first to know anything that goes on with the team."

"Thank you." She relaxed in kind, that smile reappearing and widening. "So - on Baymax. I guess my people will talk to your people? Is that right?"

He laughed, from surprise as much as anything, and she grinned at him outright; it was infectious, and he found himself grinning back.

"Ah... yes, that's right." He nodded. "I'll be in touch."

"You'd better be. And once we get the contract sorted out, come by for dinner - we'll discuss where we're going with all this too."

"Hm." He paused, giving her a considering look. "That depends - are you going to send me to wash dishes again?"

Cass stared at him a moment, then buried her face in her hands with a helpless giggle as Huyen made that same sound of quiet amusement.

"_Oh my god. _I still can't believe I did that. I can't believe _you_ did it."

"You did seem to leave little choice in the matter." He chuckled as he stood, offering a hand. "But I _will_ keep contact."

She shook his hand firmly, then offered the same to Huyen as she rose to join Krei.

"I'll be holding you to that. And it was nice meeting you, Miss Phùng."

Huyen nodded as she accepted Cass' hand, and silently followed Krei as he stepped out into crisp evening air.

They'd gone several blocks before Huyen finally spoke, her even voice startling in the heavy silence.

"You meant all of that?"

It was half question and half statement; Krei turned to look at her a moment before responding.

"Yes." He paused, tone cautious when he spoke again. "What about it?"

She held her silence briefly, studying him, then gave a faint smile.

"Perhaps you're beginning to pick up good habits, Mr. Krei."

He considered that a moment, then nodded slowly.

"Perhaps I am. I suppose we'll see."

She nodded back, and the silence was less heavy as they headed back to the office.

* * *

><p>* The names for Wasabi, Gogo, and Honey were borrowed from Becky_Blue_Eyes - check her out!<p>

* Huyen's anxiety, and the way it occasionally makes it extremely difficult for her to speak, is based on my own; I thought it was interesting she was never animated even whispering to Krei and only tapped him or gestured, and from there thought 'well what if she's like me and sometimes words just plain don't happen?' Probably not what was intended... but I like the idea of someone with the same issue being so obviously successful and good at her job.


End file.
